On Halloween, I woke up to Kit shaking me by the shoulder. Before I could speak, she covered my mouth with her hand and held a finger up to her smile.
My first thought—Are we really doing this?
My second thought—Why isn't The Headless Dog barking?
I looked across the room to my brother's bed and found it empty. The sheets were missing. My head spun from tiredness, but it all came back to me. He'd been sleeping in the upstairs bathroom the past few days. We hadn't talked at all.
Sleeping in the bathtub where his sister killed herself couldn't be a good idea. From a logical point of view, it didn't seem sane. From a practical point of view, it couldn't be comfortable. I tried to think of ways to talk to him about it, but they always ended with me yelling and him crying and The Headless Dog barking at my ankles.
"Come on, Words," Kit said. "Let's get going."
I pushed myself into a sitting position. The metal frame of the bed creaked loudly and Kit's eyes nearly popped out of her head. She threw a look over at Rope's bed.
"He can sleep through anything," I whispered. I swung my legs down, and the bed creaked. I stood up, and the bed creaked even louder.
"Oh." Her eyes darted from Rope to me. She nodded. "Well, be quiet anyway."
I figured it was about three-thirty as I pulled on my hoodie. Hopefully that'd be enough time to set everything up. There were a lot of things to take care of.
We got started as soon as we made it to the main floor. We taped the black and orange streamers to the walls in big, droopy spirals. We stretched cobwebs over the stairs banister and the doorframes and the dining room table and chairs. I took yard bags that looked like giant pumpkins outside and filled them up with leaves and brought them back inside. Construction paper, markers, scissors, glue, and yarn were put on the emptied clothing tables in the parlor. The Pin the Wart on the Witch Game was taped to a wall. Apples were added to a bucket of water. Then it was time to start on the food.
We had tons of store-bought candy that we spread around the main floor, but we made a lot of stuff, too. We dyed Rice Krispie treats green and molded them into brain shapes. We chopped up grapes, mixed them with yogurt, and stirred in red dye to make bloody, chunky vomit. We cut up marshmallows and rolled them into maggots. The list went on and on.
Kit zoomed all over the place. It wouldn't have surprised me to find out there were actually two or three of her running around that morning. It would've been easy for her to get stressed out over everything that needed to get done, but she smiled wider and wider as we worked. She kept telling me what a great job I was doing and thanking me for my help. Each time she did, it made my chest feel like it was filled with sparklers.
My final task was to carve away the rind of a watermelon to make it look like a brain. She told me what to do and then left me to it. Turns out carving a watermelon's a lot harder than you'd expect. It was a miracle I didn't lose a finger with how much the knife kept slipping.
I know I wasn't moving as quickly as she would've hoped, but when I finished with the watermelon brain and turned around, I was shocked. She'd somehow baked several batches of cupcakes and cookies and turned them into witch hats, Frankenstein monsters, spiders, and bloodshot eyeballs.
It was almost six-thirty by then, time to start on breakfast. A gallon of milk was turned into brown sludge. Pumpkin chocolate chip pancake batter was poured into cookie cutters to make silhouettes of witches riding brooms and hissing black cats. The cauldron was filled with chunky muck that tasted like orange juice. Scrambled eggs were transformed into hunks of green mold.
I took a quick walk around the kitchen and parlor. The decorations would've looked pretty lame anywhere else, but the dim light of 407 West Marshall Street gave everything an eerie vibe. I realized that I was proud of what we'd done. We. Kit and me. Just thinking that made me smile.
As she finished cooking breakfast, I got a start on washing the mountain of dirty dishes piled on the counter. It was surprising that no one had woken up and stumbled upon our surprise by then. It was almost seven.
"Let's just hope our luck holds out a little longer. We're so close. So close," she kept saying.
Just before seven-thirty, we were finally done with everything—decorations, candy and treats, breakfast, games—everything done. I'd even managed to wash, dry, and put away all of the dishes.
"Perfect. This is so perfect!" Kit hugged me so tight I couldn't breathe for a second or two. "Come on! Let's go wake everyone up!"
I nodded, smiling.
"But first!" She held up a finger to her lips. She opened the cupboard underneath the kitchen sink and pulled something out.
It was two disgusting paper masks. Streaks of dried blood ran down from the eyeholes and there were so many layers of folded and torn paper that it looked like skin was rotting off in chunks. Dirt and grime was in all the creases. Even the yarn that'd tie the masks onto our heads was frayed. She must've put hours into making them.
I stared for a while. "Kit. These . . . these are awesome!"
Kit slipped behind me, and before I could stop her she'd loosened my hood and pulled it back. My hands flew up to pull it back on, but she swatted them away. "Let me tie it on first," she said.
So, I let her.
She brought the mask down over my face. She tied it in place and then carefully put my hood back. "There," she said. She pulled the hood's strings so it closed down around the mask. "Now it's your turn." She handed me her mask and turned around.
It was stupid, I know, but my heart beat like crazy as I brought the mask over her face. My knuckles brushed her hair when I tied the yarn and tingles shimmered up my arms. I asked if it was tied too tight.
"It's perfect," she said.
I cringed when Kit turned around. The mask was hideous. She laughed. "Exactly what I wanted! Now, come on," she said. "Let's go check ourselves out in the mirror!"
She looped her arm around mine and pulled me down the back hallway. We went into the main floor bathroom and stood in front of the mirror, our shoulders pressed together, the filthy, torn masks staring back at us.
"Now that's one good-looking couple," she said.
"Uh, yeah—sure—we're—uh—" I fumbled with my words until Kit hugged me again. Then I just went silent.
"Thank you so much for doing this, Words," she said. She squeezed me tighter. "It means a lot to me. And it'll mean a lot to them, too."
I nodded a little. I'd really done it for her, but she was right. The others were going to love the party.
All too soon, she pulled away.
"Okay!" She clapped her hands together. "Let's go wake everyone up and get this party started!" She turned and led the way.
The bedroom closest to the bathroom was Mair's. He actually didn't share it with anyone. I know a lot of the others were jealous about that, but I didn't think he was happy about it either. I'm pretty sure he'd rather have shared a room with any of us just so he didn't have to be alone with The Marionette so much.
She stomped up to the door and threw it open. We rushed inside and he sat up instantly, clutching his sheets to his chest. "Lord, protect me! I, a sinner, beg—"
Kit rushed over to the bed. She howled and waved her hands over her head. "The ghouls have been unleashed!"
"No!" Mair screamed. He scooted backwards in his bed until his back hit the wall. He pulled the covers over his face. The Marionette laughed.
"Get up!" Kit said in an evil voice. "Come see the ghastly surprises that await you on this Halloween day!"
Mair cowered underneath the sheets. You could literally see the sheets shaking. "Go away! I prayed you away! I heard you walking at night, but I prayed you away!"
I stared, not sure I'd heard him right.
"Either you'll stand and face the horrors or they'll come to you!" She hadn't heard what he just said. "Make your choice!" She rushed out of the room with a growl.
More stomping, another door being thrown open, Legs' scream, and then laughter. I didn't hear Porcelain at all. I wondered if she was in the basement.
"Hey, Mair. It's Words," I said. I tapped the sheets where I thought his arm would be. He screamed and shook even worse. It was almost funny. "It's okay. We're just having a surprise Halloween party. It was just Kit and me."
"No one was hurt?"
"No. No one was hurt," I said.
He lowered the sheets enough to peek out at me. "Oh."
There was more howling from the room next door. We heard Kit stomp down the hallway and then pound her way up the stairs to the second floor.
I didn't want to, but I had to ask. "What did you mean . . . when you said you heard something walking around at night?"
"A big baby!" The Marionette called. He was still underneath the sheets. "He grabs me so tight it's a miracle my head hasn't popped off! It's also a miracle he hasn't wet the bed. The wimp."
"Tell me what you're talking about, Mair."
He lowered the sheets and pulled out his arms from underneath. He lowered The Marionette on top of the covers. "Something walks around at night." He kept his eyes on his lap. "Something big. It . . . it sounds like it comes from the kitchen . . . from the basement."
I felt sick. The room tilted in five directions at once. The basement. The growl. The footsteps my brother said he heard. But none of it made sense. There hadn't been any other noises from the basement.
"Have you heard this a lot?"
"Just a few times," he said.
"When? When was the first time?"
He looked down at his hands. "I don't know. A couple of weeks ago?"
Fear and anger wrestled with each other inside of me. "And why didn't you tell anyone, Mair?"
The Marionette put his palms together out in front of him. "He's been praying for protection. He has faith his prayers will keep us all safe."
"Has anyone else heard this? Kit and Legs?" I wondered if my brother had heard anything recently.
He shook his head. "I don't know."
If Kit had heard something walking around at night, she would've said something to me. She would've wanted me to help her figure out what it was and do something about it. But if she was just in the next room, how had he heard it, but not her? And how had Boy heard it but not me?
A headache sprouted in the front of my brain. I needed to talk to Kit about it, but the party was about to start. She'd been so excited and worked so hard on it. I couldn't ruin it for her.
I took a deep breath. "There's nothing we can do about it right now," I said. "But we have to talk to Kit about this later. We'll all talk after the party."
Mair looked like he was about to cry. "Did I do something wrong?"
We heard excited footsteps and voices come down the stairs. It sounded like everyone was awake. My heart skipped a beat when I heard The Headless Dog let out a few happy yips.
"Of course, you did something wrong!" The Marionette said. "You should've told them! Just like I told you!"
"I was trying to have faith. I was praying for us. No one was hurt!"
"Not yet," The Marionette said.
"Then it worked!" Mair's voice grew firmer. "The Bible says—"
The Marionette groaned. "Not this again."
"—that you can do anything if you have enough faith. I've been trying to have faith that we'd be safe. And it worked! Because we're all safe!" Mair lunged forward and grabbed my arm. His eyes were wide. "If we tell everyone, maybe they won't have enough faith. We won't be safe anymore. It'll ruin everything!"
I jerked my arm away, stood up, and backed away from the bed. "Mair, calm down. It's going to be fine."
"They won't ruin anything, preacher boy," The Marionette said. "I never had faith in your prayers and we're not dead, yet."
He turned to The Marionette. "But you're not even a real person."
The Marionette glared back at him. "Oh! And you think you are?"
"Just enjoy the party," I said. I turned and started to leave the room. "Don't say anything about it just yet. Kit's worked too hard for this."
I went to the kitchen. Almost everyone else was already at the table, my brother included. I sat as far away from his as possible. I felt numb. All I wanted to do was lie down and close my eyes and shut off my brain.
Evry waved her hands at me from across the table until she got my attention. I looked up and she tried to say "Happy Halloween!" but a chunk of pancake fell out of her mouth and she stated laughing. I smiled, but it made me feel even worse.
The footsteps were real.
The noise from the basement wasn't the heater.
The twins ran into the kitchen just then. They saw the mounds of food and gawked.
"Out of my way! Me first!" Z said. He tried to push back his brother and launch himself at the food.
D-rip jumped onto his brother's back and wrapped an arm around his throat. "The food is mine! Mine, I say!"
"Guys!" Kit stood up from the table. "There's enough for everyone!"
The twins stopped their struggling and stared. "We know," they both said. Then D-rip slipped down from his brother's back and they joined the rest of us at the table.
As the others ate, I let the chatter wash over me. The air in the house felt fresher than ever before. The room was brighter, too, and not only because Light glowed a little. The bursts of laughter, the easy conversation, the sense of friendship. Kit had been right. The surprise party was a good idea.
No matter what was going on with the basement, we needed to be happy.
Mair walked into the kitchen. He looked at the basement door nervously.
"Come on, Mair!" I said. He turned to me and I forced myself to smile. "Eat up before it's all gone."
A smile flickered on his face and then he joined us.
I looked down the table and caught a glimpse of my brother. He waved his arms over his head and made gorilla noises. He burst into laughter.
We need to be happy, I thought. And we can be. If Kit needs to throw a surprise Halloween party to be happy, what's the problem? And if Boy needs to sleep in a bathtub to be happy . . . why stop him?
There was a loud creaking just then. The kitchen was instantly silent and everyone turned to the basement door.
We watched as it slowly opened. I think my heart stopped. I was sure it was the growling monster that walked around the house at night. We were being so loud we'd drawn it upstairs.
But when the door swung open. It was Porcelain.
Kit screamed and ran over to her. She pulled her into a hug and Porcelain let herself be hugged. The noise in the room shot right back to where it'd been just a few seconds before.
I made a decision then. I stood up and walked down the table to my brother before I could change my mind. "Happy Halloween, Boy," I said. "I'm glad you're enjoying the party."
"It's awesome!" He slapped his hands on the table. "Cool mask, Words!"
A low growl rumbled up through the noise. I looked down to find The Headless Dog crouching nearby.
"Quiet, Heady!" Boy said. "You behave! We're having a party!"
The Headless Dog's growl cut off and he slipped underneath the table.
"Sit down, Words. Did you eat, yet?" Boy said. "It all looks so good!"
My eyes burned for a second and I sank into the chair next to my brother. We didn't say much to each other with all of the chaos around us, but breakfast had never tasted so good.
After breakfast, Kit announced the rest of the festivities. First, everyone was going to make a mask in the parlor—that was mandatory. Then there was a series of mini-games. For each mini-game we completed, we'd get points. The more points we earned, the more prizes we got at the end of the day.
"But first," Kit said, "we've got to clean up this mess."
To my surprise, there were no groans or complaints and no one tried to sneak away. Everyone pitched in, and within fifteen minutes, the table was cleared, the counters were cleaned, and all of the dishes were washed, dried, and put away.
We flooded into the parlor. The others rushed around, trying to look at everything at once, but Kit and me just hung back and watched.
I turned to her. "This was a great idea, Kit. It really was."
She squeezed my arm and then turned to the others. "Everything for making masks is over on the laundry table."
We watched as they scrambled across the parlor. Construction paper and scissors and markers and yarn and glue and tape and cotton balls and paint and brushes and glitter and feathers zig-zagged from hand to hand. It was the most chaotic act of sharing I'd ever seen.
"I'm so glad Porcelain came up," Kit said and motioned to her.
Porcelain kneeled behind Legs and used the chair part as a table to draw on a piece of construction paper.
"This'll be good for her," she said. "To feel like she's welcome and a part of us."
"Words?"
I looked down to find my brother.
"What do I do?" He said. "I can't make a mask. I don't have . . ."
My guts turned themselves inside out. Kit gasped and covered her mouth. How had we not thought of that?
"It's okay." I said in a rush. "We'll think of something. What do you want to be for Halloween?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe a . . . a ninja turtle?"
"Which one?"
"Michelangelo," he said. "Duh."
"We can do that," I said. "Let's get moving!"
Boy and I rounded up as many sheets of green and orange construction paper as we could. Then we got some yarn and scissors and tape. I made green paper sleeves and put orange strips around the wrists and elbows. It didn't take long, and when I slipped them on him. Boy squealed with excitement. The next task was to make him a turtle shell.
The Headless Dog hung back at first, but as we worked on the costume it crept closer and closer. I waited for it to start growling, but it didn't. When it was finally by my brother's side, I took a chance and reached out to pet him. The dog stiffened up, but he let me touch him without barking. After a few seconds, he relaxed and his tail started wagging.
I never liked that dog before, but in that moment I loved him. I even had an urge to hug him. I probably would have if the low rumble hadn't started.
Just like before, it started softly. Not everyone heard it at first, but as it got louder, the laughter and chatter died away. Work on the masks stopped and everyone looked around at each other, terrified. There was no mistaking it this time. It was a growl. And the growling grew louder and louder until we had to cover our ears. Then, it burst into a roar that stretched on and on and on.
The roar faded, but the noise lingered in my head and made it throb. No one spoke or moved. I held my breath.
Without warning, another roar tore through the air. Rope burst into sobs. The air around Light dimmed to a dark gray. The twins grabbed onto each other. The Headless Dog jumped onto Boy and nearly knocked him over.
As the second roar faded away, Porcelain jumped to her feet. She ran across the parlor, dodging around everyone and jumping over the half-made masks and art supplies. She disappeared into the kitchen. It was obvious what she was doing. She was heading back into the basement.
Kit ran after her. "No! Come back! Don't go down there!" She slipped on something and fell. She landed hard on one knee.
It wasn't until I tried to get up that I realized Boy was grabbing onto me. "I have to go, Boy. I have to go."
He held on even tighter. "Don't leave me!"
Kit was back on her feet. She hobbled into the kitchen.
"I have to go!" I said. I pushed my brother off me and left him screaming and crying on the floor. My stomach twisted into a knot for doing that, but I had to stop Kit. "Kit! Don't go down there!" I scrambled around and over everyone and everything.
I made it to the kitchen just as she was getting to the basement door. I threw myself across the room and slammed my body against the door just as she was pulling it open.
Her mask was still on, so I couldn't see her face, but she turned to me like she was in a daze. "Why did she . . . I have to . . . I have to . . ."
Another roar exploded out of nowhere but this one faded away instantly. Screams came from the parlor. Kit sank to the floor. "I have to go get her," she managed between sobs. "It can't be safe down there! I have to get her!"
I fell to my knees and ripped off my mask. I slid hers off her head, too.
"You are not going down there," I said. I grabbed her face with both of my hands. "You are not going down there!"
She looked at me, totally miserable. "Why would she go down there after that? What's happening? I have to get her."
"No," I said.
She pulled her face free. Her eyes grew hard. "I have to! I have to get her!"
I shook my head. "You're not going," I said. "I'll go! I'll go get her."